Thill-coupling.



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' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GEoRGE WILLIAM DAVIS, or GRANVILLE, NEW Yoan.

THILL-COUPLING.

SPECIFICATION forming' part of Letters Patent No. 632,550, datedSeptember 5, 1899i Application filed February 27, 1899, serrano.706,997. or@ more.)

" To @ZZ 'wiz/mn it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE WILLIAM DA- VIs, of Granville, in the countyof Washington and State of New York, have invented, a new and ImprovedThill-Coupling, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription. 4

The object of my invention is to so construct a thill-coupling that whenthe draftanimal is removed from the thills the thills will beautomatically carried upward to a position of rest and held in suchposition.

Another object of the invention is to so construct a thill-couplin gthat the thills or shafts may be quickly and conveniently disconnect-ved from a Vehicle or applied thereto and when applied to the Vehiclewill remainl in operative position under all conditions of travel and bepractically noiseless while utilized for draft purposes.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of theseveral parts, as will be hereinafter fullyset forth, and pointed out inthe claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the iigures.

Figure 1 is a vertical section through the axle of a vehicle and a sideelevation of the improved thill-coupling, the thills shown in positivelines and partly in section being in the position to be entered upon thecoupling, the dotted lines illustrating the position of the thill afterhaving been entered upon the coupling. `Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig.1, illustrating indotted lines the position the thills will occupy afterthe animal has been disconnected therefrom, the position shown inpositive lines being that which the thills will occupy when theVdraft-animal is harnessed thereto. Fig. 8 is a plan View of a portionof the axle and theimproved coupling, the thills having been removed;and Fig. 4 is a detail rear elevation of the lower vend of a thilladapted for use in connection with the coupling.

A represents the front axle of a vehicle, and B the clip that is adaptedto secure the improved coupling to the axle. The clip E is made to passthrough a horizontal plate 10, forming a part of the body of thecoupling,

which plate extends below the axle and b e-i yond the front and the rearthereof, and said plate is provided at each side of its forward end withan ear 11. I l

The movable portion of the coupling con= sists of a sleeve or barrel 12,located between the ears 11 of the body portion of the coupling andmounted to turn upon a screw or pin 13, passedthrough the barrel orsleeve 12 and through the ears 11, one end of said screw or pin beingprovided with a head and the other end with a nut 14 or the equivalentthereof.

projection, and from said nose 17 an arm 18` is rearwardly projected,said arm being more or less downwardly and rearwardly curved. The uppersurface of the arm 1S isadapted to engage with a melnber of a bentspring 19, said spring being secured, preferably, between the axle A andbody-plate 10 of the coupling, the lower end of the spring being curvedin direction of one side of the running- I gear, extending transverselyoven the upper surface of the arm 18, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Y

Each thill or shaft C is provided with a shoe D at its rear end, and anopening -20 is produced in said shoe, which opening at itslbottom 21 hasa downward and rearward inclination.

When the improved couplings are employed and the thills or shafts areconnected with the couplings, said thills or shafts are carried to theposition shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, the upper walls of theopenings 20in the shoes of the thills or shafts entering the recesses 16in the projection of the ,movable portions of said couplings. Bypressing upward the arms 18 of the couplings, as shown in dotted linesin Fig. 1, the spring 19 is compressed, and the noses 17 of thecouplings are brought in such position that the lower portion of theopen- IOO ings 20 in the thills may becarried over the said noses, asshown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. The thills will thus besecurelyfastened to the couplings, and when the vehicle is not in usethe springs 19 by forcing downward the arms 18 will carry the thills tothe position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 and hold the thills in suchposition, so that wherever the vehicle may be the thills will be held atan elevation from the ground or other support for said vehicle. 'When ananimal is to be harnessed to the vehicle, the thills are drawn downward,assuming the position shown in positive lines in Fig. 2, wherein it willbe observed that the thills are in firm engagement with the couplingsand that the springs 19 are compressed, and it is evident also thatunder the improved construction of the coupling the thills when coupledthereto will not rattle or have undue wear while the vehicle is in use.

Having thus described my invention, I claimas new and desire to secureby Letters Patent* j 1. A thillcoupling, consisting of a bodysectionadapted for attachment to an axle, a locking section pivotally attachedto the body-section, said locking-section being provided with means forattachment to a thill and with an arm extending rearwardly beyond andbeneath the body-section, and a spring attached, to a fixed support,which spring extends over the uppersurface ofthe projecting arm of thelocking-section, as described. A

2. A thillcoupling, consisting of a bodysection provided with means forattachment to the running gear, and a locking-section pivotally attachedto the body-section, said locking-section being provided with an upperrecess, a lower nose and an arm extending rearwardly from said nose,anda spring adapted forattachment to the run ning-gear, which springextends across the upper surface of said arm, for the purpose described.

3. In a thill-coupling, the combination with a body-section comprising abottom orbase plate adapted for attachment to the runninggear of aVehicle,and ears projected upwardly from the forward portion of saidbase-plate, of a locking section comprising a barrel 1oa pivot pinpassed through the ears of they body section and through the barrel ofthe locking-section, the locking-section being provided with anextension at the forwardbelow the barrel, which extension has arewardly-extending arm atits bottom portion,

and a spring adapted for attachment to theV running-gear, which springis in engagementv with the upper surface of the arm of the lock- Ying-section of the coupling, asdes'crib`ed. et. In a thill-couplin g,the combinatiomiivith` 'a body-section comprising abottom or base fplate adapted for attachment to the running- L gear of a vehicle, andears projected upwardly f from the forward portion of said base-plate, Yof a locking section comprising a barrel lo-r cated between said ears ofthe bodysection,a v

pivot-pin passed through the ears ofthe body-r section and through thebarrel of the lockingf section, the-locking-section being provided withan extension at the forward portion of the barrel, projecting downwardlybelow the barrel, which extension has a recess formedin Y its uppersurface, a forwardly-extending nose at itslower end, and arearwardly-extending arm at its bottom portion, a spring adapted forattachment to the runninggear, which spring is in engagement with theupper surface of the arm of the locking-'section of the coupling, and athill provided 'with a foot having anV opening therein, the bottom Wallof the opening being inclined, the upper Wall of said opening of thethill-foot being adapted to engage with the lower wall of the recess inthe locking-section of the coupling, the lower Wall of said opening inthe thill-foot being adapted to engage with the nose onsaidlocking-sectionof the coupling, as described.

GEORGE W'ILLIAM DAVIS.

. YVitnesses:

FRANK NV. BUMP, FRANK W'. CARLTON.

sa cated between said ears of the body-section, f x

5S L f portionof the barrel, projecting downwardly 1 v

